


Hunting

by MEGrymz



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-06-05 18:23:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6716128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MEGrymz/pseuds/MEGrymz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loghain teaches Maric to hunt, and they come across a hound.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hunting

"What are you doing?"

Loghain grunted and continued prodding at the fire. He held a cleaned and carved stick stabbed through several big chunks of meat-- Fennec fox, Maric guessed, based on the size and color of the slightly bloodied pelts on the ground.

Maric sat at his side, watching Loghain cook. It filled the air with a delicious smell, and he definitely remembered just how hungry he was. "That's a lot of meat. When did you hunt it all?"

"While you were relieving yourself in the bushes clear on the other end of the forest for fear of someone seeing you, I had more than enough time to find a fennec den. Shot two of them before the rest went and hid."

"How are you so good at this?" Maric frowned at him, a bit envious.

"I was a poacher before I joined you, Maric. Bad poachers don't eat."

"Well, we're lucky you're a good one, then. But, then again, 'good poacher' is a bit of an oxymoron, isn't it?" Maric picked up another one of the clean wooden spears and poked it through one of the pieces of meat, then stuck it in his mouth rather dumbly. "Ohhh, hot, hot hot hot--"

Loghain snorted out a laugh and followed Maric's lead, deciding that the fennec was cooked enough, and removed it from the flame. "Burn yourself? I wonder why..." Maric laughed between bites, making a few outrageous faces as he tried not to burn himself any more. The two continued with their meal and exchanged glances every once in a while, enjoying the silence for once. Maric hardly chewed, scarfing down his meal like a carnivore, and it elicited quite an impressive eye-roll from his companion.

It wasn't long, however, before their sweet silence was interrupted and footsteps could be heard in the brush. Loghain jumped to attention immediately and turned to face the source of the noise, placing a hand over the hilt of his sword. "Who's there? Don't come any closer!" He didn't bother to be silent-- it had to be fool bandits, nobody else was that noisy.

That demand was met with a whimper, and he hesitated. Was that...? He stepped over and, innocently, a Mabari poked its head out from the brush before giving a punctual bark. "A dog!" Maric got to his feet, wide-eyed, and hurried to join the fun. "What's a Mabari doing out here?"

"I... I don't know." Surprised, the commander knelt down and took a closer look. "It's not collared or tagged. Perhaps it came from the town south of here." He gazed at the dog, and it gazed back at him.

Maric stared at them both. "...Loghain? She looks hungry." The excited tail-wagging that started up at that observation was confirmation enough, and the commander stood, giving a brisk nod.

"So she is. Well, hound, you stay here at camp until we come back, and we'll have fresh meat for you. Understand?" It barked, and Loghain picked up his longbow. "Maric, you're going to learn to hunt if it kills us both. Come along."

"Wait. What?"

* * *

"Anchor close to your mouth, all the way to the corner."

"Won't it hit me in the face?" Maric looked toward Loghain, a little concerned.

"No, but make sure you rotate your forearm out, or it will hit that and peel your skin. This bow has around an eighty five pound draw weight, maybe a little more."

Maric gawked at him. "Maker! Doesn't that hurt?"

"After a lifetime of archery, a soldier's spine will warp, yes. I'm very careful with my stretching and exercise to help prevent that."

"And you use this thing all the time?"

"You've been watching me, yes?"

"How many arrows do you fire in a minute with this thing?" Maric stared down at the bow, then at Loghain.

"Depends. I've done as many as fifteen arrows a minute at your side."

"That's an arrow every four seconds!"

"And you seem to get a sword swung at you every four seconds, so I suppose it cancels out."

Maric groaned and rolled his eyes. "Help me do this."

"Alright, alright." Loghain stood close and placed his hands over the prince's, adjusting his grip and turning his shoulders. It was admittedly thrilling to feel those strong hands on his body, but Maric fought the blush away and tried to concentrate-- still, it was hard not to get distracted. That voice in his ear made him tremble, those hands tightly holding his arms made him stir, that chest pressed against his back made his face burn, but he loved it, and so Maric decided to indulge in the moment. Just a bit.

"Try firing. There, at the snake in the branches." Those words pulled the prince back into reality, and so he refocused and aimed, with quite a bit of help from Loghain. "Go."

The arrow hit one of the tree limbs with a loud _thunk,_ and Maric jumped a bit. "Oh! Oh, did I get it?"

"I don't know, let me check." Loghain climbed up into the tree and, after a moment, dropped back down with the arrow and a dead snake. "You shot it right in the head. Good job."

Maric was silent a moment before a great grin spread across his face, like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. "Good job?"

"...Ah." Loghain's cheeks burned. "You're precious when you smile, alright? Get back to camp."

* * *

Loghain had taken a liking to the Mabari.

Her name was Happenstance, now-- after all, it had just been happenstance that she had found them. The iron-willed commander had absolutely melted when he realized she liked him, and it was enough to make Maric feel giddy. He knew the story of Adalla, the hound he had as a boy, and he was overjoyed to see Loghain with the dog.

 _Dogs are to be honored,_ he had said, _they always listen to your troubles and will never betray you._

"...Can we keep Happenstance?"

"Of course."


End file.
